Bomb hoax delays Akasa Air flight at Gkp airport

Amid pan-India threats being received by airlines operating in the country, authorities at the Gorakhpur Airport stayed on their toes for three hours on Thursday after receiving a bomb threat involving an Bengaluru-Delhi-Gorakhpur Akasa Air flight. The threat, circulated on social media platform X, was later found to be a hoax.
Meanwhile, a case was registered at Agra’s Shahganj police station on Wednesday night, on a complaint lodged by sub inspector Anup Kumar of Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) about an e-mail threatening to blow up Agra airport before Diwali. The mail was received on the official mail address of CISF, Agra airport unit, on October 4.
In Gorakhpur, the alert was raised around 2:12 PM when the security in-charge of Akasa Air informed airport authorities that a bomb had been allegedly planted on flight QP 1880, which was en route from Bengaluru to Gorakhpur, with a further leg to Delhi. Bomb squads, sniffer dogs, and Special Security Force commandos were immediately mobilised. Passengers and the flight were thoroughly searched upon landing.
Once the flight landed, a comprehensive search was conducted by officials, including members of the bomb detection and defusal squad, medical teams, and airport and air force security personnel. After completing the search, airport director RK Prashar classified the threat as a non-specific category hoax.
The flight, which carried 183 passengers, including five children, was delayed as a result of the search. However, after confirming the safety of both the passengers and the aircraft, 105 passengers continued their journey to Delhi, departing Gorakhpur at 4:45 PM. The flight reached its destination safely.
Abdur Rahman